1978 Roberto Duran vs 2003 Floyd Mayweather jr. 15 rds @ 135

The TKO being upheld and a rematch not being mandated probably had alot to do with it.

The ending sucks, but I don't think anybody watching the fight would think Buchanan was robbed and could beat Duran. I'm not against a rematch but don't feel a great injustice was done.

And by the end of the year, De Jesus had arrived and snatched up the top rating.

 

That post was meant for Mendoza mate, but yeah there was no need for a rematch as Ken was well beaten before the low blow and I dont think he could ever beat Duran.

 

They had him pretty close although for the life of me I can't figure out why it matters whether De Jesus was a top 20 or a top 25 fighter. What's the relevancy in one verses the other.

At least one of those guys, namely Monte Cox said this about Floyd's welterweight accomplishments:

"Floyd Mayweather’s career does not give him a top 10 spot. Luis Rodriguez, for example, had a better career than Floyd beating Emile Griffith, Benny Paret, Hurricane Carter, Curtis Cokes, Georgie Benton and Bennie Briscoe. I cannot in all honesty put Mayweather in the top 10 welterweights based on a career of hand picked opponents and having never unified a major title. Floyd avoided fights with Mosley, Margarito and Pacquiao when they meant something. He waited for these opponents to slow down and fade before considering facing them. Mayweather just does not have the competition to be considered a true all time great. I am not convinced that Floyd would beat any of the top 10 all time welterweights."

http://coxscorner.tripod.com/divisional_ratings.html

And this is his view of Duran:

"Roberto Duran was the best fighter of my lifetime along with Muhammad Ali and Ray Leonard. He had a peak record of 72-1 and defended the lightweight title 12 times before moving up and winning the welterweight and middleweight titles. He is the only former lightweight champion in history to win a middleweight title."

 

This is their list.

1. This content is protected
2. This content is protected
3. This content is protected
4. This content is protected
5. This content is protected
6. This content is protected
7. This content is protected
8. This content is protected
9. This content is protected
10. This content is protected
11. This content is protected
12. This content is protected
13. This content is protected
14. This content is protected
15. This content is protected
16. This content is protected
17. This content is protected
18. This content is protected
19. This content is protected
20. This content is protected

This content is protected

 

Who did Lampkin beat? Educate me on that.

 

You don't need me for that, go to boxrec if you want a list of names.

 

I don't get the inclusion of Pryor as a top 20 great lightweight since he never won a title there. At least I dont think he did :think He did however lay a path of destruction and would be an h2h nightmare for any lightweight in history, even Duran.

I don't get a top 20 list without Laguna since he took the titles from prime top 10 Carlos Ortiz in the first of their trilogy running him close in both rematches. He went on to get his titles back 5 years later knocking out Mando Ramos then defending against Guts Ishimatsu knocking him out in 13 before losing to Buchanan twice in close fought title fights when he was past his best. The man even drew with the defensive master Nicolino Locche in a ten round none title fight.
Laguna deserves to be ranked a greater lightweight than Mosley and Chavez because he beat Ortiz and fought stiffer comp at the weight.. I'm still confused about Pryor's inclusion :think
It's hard to rank Great lists if you don't have knowledge on old timers styles and how good the guy's were they fought. Robbery's and other things matter too imo. Boxrec isn't very reliable so it's a hard thing to do. It's very subjective as well. I give up on them

 

I think Pryor is included because they only have the 8 orginal weights and so I think fighters who fall into other categories, ie junior Welter are either moved up or down into one of the original categories. Assuming Pryor could have fought at lightweight he would have been a handful. Funny after watching he second De Jesus fight I think Pryor fought much the same way Duran did in that fight, but if you watch the 3rd De Jesus fight you see a more refined version of Duran where he slipped punches more, feinted more and was much better defensively. That version of Duran would, in my opinion, beat Pryor.

 

His KO of Edwin Malave maybe Lampkins best wins are kinda **** tbh. He did however go the distance with De Jesus twice
He looks decent on film though :bbb

 

Right I got ya :good That was actually very stupid of me atsch

Yeah, the less crude version of Duran refined by Ray Arcel would be too slick for Pryor inside and outside. Pryor's crude aggression would be made to pay. Durans amazing ability to turn defence into offence and back in the blink of an eye would catch Pryor out a lot. Pryor would try and crush Duran early and would win some of the early rounds but Duran's smart counter combo's, especially to the body would slow Pryor down eventually. I could see Duran dropping him late. If old fat Duran can handle the early pressure from monsters like Barkley and turn the fight around then a younger, prime Duran takes The Hawk the same way. Duran would have to be Montreal dedicated and prepared though. Pryor was an animal with huge work rate but he was no Hearns in the range/power dep so I doubt he could shock or hurt Duran. It's one of the best fantasy match ups any fan could think of tbh. It would probably be more exciting to watch the cruder/dirtier version of Duran in action vs Hawk

 

So team Duran prevented the rematch of his best opponent at lightweight that I noted earnred his best name wins over fighters making their final ring appearance. Thanks.

 

Regarding just missing the cut. It was in order of votes so Buchanan was 26th overall. I have Kenny around 26-30th myself as suspect he will fall even further in the next 20 years.

 

Of course he's going to go down, it's pretty hard to go up. Where do you rate Mayweather?

 

While Mayweather just avoided the best opponents to being with.

If you've ever watched this fight you really can't think a rematch would have turned out any differently can you? If so on what basis?

 

Interest because the guy directly ahead of him was Mayweather.